Climate change: There is no planet B PDF

Preview

Summary

2/4/2020 There is no planet B Opinion There is no planet B Toriqul Islam | Update: 13:21, Apr 04, 2019 ‘Several hospitals cancelled surgery because they had no water to sterilise instruments, clean operating theatres or for staff to wash their hands. The upmarket shopping malls selling luxury brands...

Description

2/4/2020

There is no planet B

Opinion There is no planet B Toriqul Islam | Update: 13:21, Apr 04, 2019

‘Several hospitals cancelled surgery because they had no water to sterilise instruments, clean operating theatres or for staff to wash their hands. The upmarket shopping malls selling luxury brands were forced to switch off air conditioners and shut toilets.’ In another case, “Kamala Tripura kicks off his day at 4:00 at the dawn. She has to walk down the hilly paths for a kilometre to collect water for her home. The distance is extending in every coming year. She has to go for three times a day to meet the water demand of her house. If she misses the morning slot, she has to wait for hours after hours to have a minimum amount of water. Kamala is not alone. It is the story of people in four other villages in the area.” Ones mistakenly can take these as excerpts from any ‘local fiction’. No way. These are the glimpses of two real-life stories of dwellers in India’s New Delhi at one point in https://en.prothomalo.com/opinion/news/192934/There-is-no-planet-B?print=1#jadewits_print

1/4

2/4/2020

There is no planet B

2013 and the story of households in Khagrachhari, a hilly district of Bangladesh, recently. Thomson Reuters Foundation published the former one three years back while Prothom Alo published the latter a day ago. Indian’s New Delhi, one of the most polluted and hottest cities on the earth, is struggling for fresh water with depleted water levels, while Bangladesh, one of the most pollulated and climate-sensitive deltaic land in the world, has been experiencing unpredictable weather forecast nowadays. The characters and plots of the stories are different but the grounds are common. And that is climate change. Yet these are not the stories of Indians and Bangladeshis alone. We are living in a world where 1 in 9 people lack access to safe water while 2.1 billion people still live without safe drinking water in their homes globally. Also, ‘two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.’ Water is such a thing -- in surfeit, it floods us and subsequently kills us. On the other hand, when in deficit, it renders our surroundings arid and dry, and kills us in much more brutal ways. There must be a balance for the sake of the earth’s survival. The earth is water abundant with nearly 70 per cent of wetlands, most of which are ocean-based. Yet, there is a crisis as only 2.5 per cent of the water is fresh. And of that amount, only 1 per cent is accessible. In essence, only 0.007 percent of the planet's water is available to fuel and feed its 7 billion people (National Geographic). Amid the prevailing crisis, climate change has made the situation worst. Bringing huge changes in water regimes and the weather cycle of the earth, climate change has sent the earth climate haywire. Climate change, as experts say ‘is, to the large extent, water change and water is the predominant means through which the impacts of climate change will be felt.’ Rivers, which are major sources of fresh water and continuously refill the earth with minerals and nutrients, are one of the worst victims. A team of scientists revealed terrible findings, describing the first case of large-scale river rerouting as a result of climate change. ‘They found that in mid-2016, the retreat of a very large glacier in Canada’s Yukon territory led to the rerouting of its vast stream of meltwater from one river system to another — cutting down flow to the Yukon’s largest lake, and channeling freshwater to the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska, rather than to the Bering Sea’ (Washington Post).

https://en.prothomalo.com/opinion/news/192934/There-is-no-planet-B?print=1#jadewits_print

2/4

2/4/2020

There is no planet B

Climate change is also affecting rivers, changing water quantity, water quality and water capacity. Extra rainfall results in excessive runoff in the streams, but they are not at all ready to accommodate this whereas ‘frequent droughts, enhanced evaporation, and decreases in overall annual rainfall, contribute to ‘reduced water levels in streams, rivers, and lakes.’ London is famous for its drizzly weather. A recent study predicts that it would face a freshwater crisis within 25 years. Due to climate change, by 2050 dry summers could result in up to 80 per cent less water in some of the country's rivers. On the contrary, the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Change — named in honour of George Hadley, one of the leading centres for the study of scientific issues associated with climate change -- commissioned a study tiled ‘The impact of climate change on global river flow in HadGEM1 simulations’. This study shows, ‘climate change was predicted to increase the average global total river flow for the 2071–2100 period by approximately 4 and 8% relative to the 1961–1990 (present day) period.’ ‘Large changes in total annual river flow from the largest river basins were predicted, including decreases of over 30% and increases exceeding 70%. For smaller rivers, increases of up to 300% and decreases up to 65% in total annual river flow were predicted.’ The greatest increases in total annual river flow by volume ranged from approximately 3000 to 21000 m3s−1 while the greatest decreases in total annual river flow by volume ranged from approximately 1000 to 30000 m3s−1.’ The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts global temperature of between 0.3 and 4.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century. Bangladesh, a hotspot of climate change, is experiencing a huge change in its climate, too. At the moment, according to the UNICEF has ‘access to safe drinking water is still low at 34.6 per cent.’ The crisis is gradually deepening. Water is as multifaceted as complex. Climate change will also ignite ‘hydroponics.’ Still there is huge war-like situation over sharing the basins and water in the world, especially in the developing countries. The fast changing climate is exacerbating the situation. Leonardo da Vinci says, ‘Water is the driving force of all nature.’ It’s so true. Unfortunately, the world is now caught between in two lopsided faces of it-- abundance and scarcity, leading us to hope for a new alternative habitat.

https://en.prothomalo.com/opinion/news/192934/There-is-no-planet-B?print=1#jadewits_print

3/4

2/4/2020

There is no planet B

Tremendous scientific advancements are generating hope of a new habitat in another planet, most probably Mars. It is a blessing for this dying humankind, no doubt. But, do we have any answers if one questions whether the next planet is secure in the hands of the very same people who once killed their beautiful habitat? A weak ago, more than a million students emptied their classrooms and took to the streets in more than 100 countries following a call from 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg, showing a ray of hope. They brandished hundreds of thousands during their ‘climate strike’. One of the placards holding by two school kids in central Rome on the day reads the’ THERE IS NO PLANET B.’ This is probably the answer. *Toriqul Islam is a journalist. He can be reached at [email protected] Editor & publisher: Matiur Rahman. Pragati Insurance Bhaban, 20-21, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka - 1215 Phone: 8180078-81, Fax: 9130496, E-mail: [email protected]

© All Rights Reserved Prothom Alo 1998 - 2020

Reproduction of any content, news or article published on this website is strictly prohibited. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

https://en.prothomalo.com/opinion/news/192934/There-is-no-planet-B?print=1#jadewits_print

4/4...